U.S. Cattle Herd Is At A 61 Year Low And Organic Food Shortages Are Being Reported All Over America

By Michael Snyder, on January 22nd, 2014

If the extreme drought in the western half of the country keeps going, the food supply problems that we are experiencing right now are only going to be the tip of the iceberg. As you will see below, the size of the U.S. cattle herd has dropped to a 61 year low, and organic food shortages are being reported all over the nation. Surprisingly cold weather and increasing demand for organic food have both been a factor, but the biggest threat to the U.S. food supply is the extraordinary drought which has had a relentless grip on the western half of the country. If you check out the U.S. Drought Monitor, you can see that drought conditions currently stretch from California all the way to the heart of Texas. In fact, the worst drought in the history of the state of California is happening right now. And considering the fact that the rest of the nation is extremely dependent on produce grown in California and cattle raised in the western half of the U.S., this should be of great concern to all of us.

Due to the tightness in supply and the increasing demand, prices for organic produce just continue to go up. Just consider the following example…

A quick check on the organic tree fruit market shows that the average price per carton for organic apples was $38 per carton in mid-January this year, up from an average of just $31 per carton last year at the same time. At least for apple marketers, the organic market is heating up.

Personally, I went to a local supermarket the other day and I started to reach for a package of organic strawberries but I stopped when I saw that they were priced at $6.99. I couldn’t justify paying 7 bucks for one package. I still remember getting them on sale for $2.99 last year.

Unfortunately, this may only be just the beginning of the price increases. California Governor Jerry Brown has just declared a water emergency, and reservoirs throughout the state have dropped to dangerously low levels.

Unless a miracle happens, there is simply not going to be enough water to go around for the entire agriculture industry. The following is an excerpt from an email from an industry insider that researcher Ray Gano recently shared on his website…

Harris farms has released a statement saying they will leave about 40,000 acres fallow this year because the FEDS have decided to only deliver 10% of the water allocation for 2014. Lettuce is predicted to reach around $5.00 a head (if you can find it). Understand the farmers in the Salinas valley are considering the same action. So much for salad this summer unless you grow it yourself.

The reason why the agriculture industry in California is so important is because it literally feeds the rest of the nation. I shared the following statistics yesterday, but they are so critical that they bear repeating. As you can see, without the fruits and vegetables that California grows, we would be in for a world of hurt…

The state produces 99 percent of the artichokes grown in the US, 44 percent of asparagus, a fifth of cabbage, two-thirds of carrots, half of bell peppers, 89 percent of cauliflower, 94 percent of broccoli, and 95 percent of celery. Leafy greens? California’s got the market cornered: 90 percent of the leaf lettuce we consume, along with and 83 percent of Romaine lettuce and 83 percent of fresh spinach, come from the big state on the left side of the map. Cali also cranks a third of total fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S.—and 95 percent of ones destined for cans and other processing purposes.

As for fruit, I get that 86 percent of lemons and a quarter of oranges come from there; its sunny climate makes it perfect for citrus, and lemons store relatively well. Ninety percent of avocados? Fine. But 84 percent of peaches, 88 percent of fresh strawberries, and 97 percent of fresh plums?

Come on. Surely the other 49 states can do better.

Are you starting to understand how much trouble we could be in if this drought does not end?

About now I can hear some people out there saying that they will just eat meat because they don’t like vegetables anyway.

Well, unfortunately we are rapidly approaching a beef shortage as well.

On January 1st, the U.S. cattle herd hit a 61-year low of 89.3 million head of cattle.

The biggest reason for this is the 5 year drought that has absolutely crippled the cattle industry out west…

Back in the late fall 2013 there was a freak snowstorm that killed close to 300,000+ cattle. This is a major hit to the cattle market.

I know in Texas where they still have a 5 year drought they are dealing with, they are having to ship grass bails in from Colorado, Utah and other parts of the country just to feed the cattle. Ranchers are sending their female cattle to the slaughter houses becasue they can not afford to feed them anymore. It is the females that help re-stock the herd. SO if you are slaughtering your females, your herd does not grow. It is expected that the US will not see cattle herd growth returning until 2017, maybe even later.

This is a problem which is not going away any time soon.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. cattle herd has gotten smaller for six years in a row, and the amount of beef produced is expected to drop to a 20 year low in 2014…

The U.S. cattle herd contracted for six straight years to the smallest since 1952, government data show. A record drought in 2011 destroyed pastures in Texas, the top producing state, followed the next year by a surge in feed-grain prices during the worst Midwest dry spell since the 1930s. Fewer cattle will mean production in the $85 billion beef industry drops to a 20- year low in 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

It would be hard to overstate how devastating this ongoing drought has been for many ranchers out west. For example, one 64-year-old rancher who lives in Texas says that his herd is 90 percent smaller than it was back in 2005 because of the drought…

Texas rancher Looney, who is 64 and has been in the cattle business his whole life, said his herd is still about 90 percent below its size from 2005 because of the prolonged dry weather. It will take years for the pastures to come back, even if there is normal rainfall, he said. About 44 percent of Texas was in still in drought in the week ended Jan. 7, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

And it isn’t just the U.S. that is dealing with this kind of drought. The largest freshwater lake in China that was once about twice the size of London, England has almost entirely dried up because of the ongoing drought over there.

Meanwhile, global demand for food just continues to rise.

If this drought ends and the western half of the nation starts getting lots of rain, this could just be a temporary crisis.

However, the truth is that scientific research has shown that the 20th century was the wettest century in the western half of the country in 1000 years, and that we should expect things to return to “normal” at some point.

So is that happening now?

Over the past couple of years, I have warned that Dust Bowl conditions are starting to return to the western half of the United States. Just see this article, this article and this article.

Now the state of California is experiencing the worst drought that it has ever gone through and “apocalyptic” dust storms are being reported in Colorado and Nevada.

Just because things seem like they have always been a certain way does not mean that they will always stay that way.

Things out west are rapidly changing, and in the end it is going to affect the lives of every man, woman and child in the United States.

Obviously not everyone is in the position to grow their own veggies. Those that are – should. Grow enough to can or freeze. Its been along time since I bought vegetables in a store. They taste better from my garden even if they are processed. This summer I’m going to try hydroponic cucumbers in the greenhouse with the safety of the usual ones in the garden. Then next winter’s adventure is a winter greens wintering in a cold frame. However the drought conditions out west do make me appreciate my extremely cold and snowy weather here on the east coast.

annie from indianie

Hydroponic sounds good. I want to put in a garden this spring, but worried about the radiation being dumped on our soil. I am going to search out some kind of kit to measure unsafe radiation readings before planting.

Priszilla

do you think there is some magic dome over your supermarket fields?

callmecordelia1

Hey Grumpy, this is my first year doing winter greens in a cold frame. It has been such a great experience. Definitely try it! We had two weeks of temps below zero, only getting up into the single digits during the day, and most of the greens survived! They are thriving now that it has “warmed up” a bit (20s!). The Swiss Chard and beets are looking a little sad, but the kale, collards, mache, claytonia and spinach are all doing great. If you haven’t read The Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, I highly recommend it. Very good feeling to be able to provide my own greens, even in the winter!

El mico

It seems all the conditions that bought about the depression of the 1930’s are being repeated but know one wants to admit it.

Mondobeyondo

They are.

davidmpark

If we get another dust bowl, then yeah. 🙁

Syrin

Look back at virtually every modern day leftist tyranny (yeah, I known redundant). How do they ultimately control the pop’l? Food supply. That’s why they want so many people on food stamps (20% of the country). That’s why the treasonous Supreme Court keeps siding with Monsanto, namely to create a food monopoly which can crush any small farm. That’s why they have expanded FEMA camps and signed agreements with the NFL, MLB and NBA to use their stadiums for “emergency” crowd control. It’s the #1 weapon of tyrants everywhere, and Obama is no exception.

davidmpark

AMEN!

Mondobeyondo

Yep. Control the food supply, and you can control the people. Money won’t matter when you’re hungry. You’d give your last nickel for a grain of rice, if you’re hungry enough.

JustanOguy

The El-Nino conditions that will be following after the warm water conditions on California’s west coast will be coming soon enough.

Dust Bowl was a combination of over farming and dry weather conditions in an area of the country with much higher year round winds on flat plains.

El Pollo de Oro

El Mico: History definitely repeats itself, no doubt. The reality is that The Banana Republic of America has been in a depression since 2008. This very sick and diseased patient known as the BRA economy has been on life support for five years, but all the stimulus, bailouts, corporate welfare, etc. haven’t made the patient healthy. The sick patient has only gotten sicker. And ultimately, this depression will become much worse than the 1930s because at least during the 1930s, we had a manufacturing base. As Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says, a country that outsources so many of its good jobs is essentially flushing its own GDP down the toilet. So the only thing to do at this point is prep, keep your guns loaded and pray. These are dark times we’re living in.

erheault

the normal if there is such a thing for droughts is 7 years. Here in WA State we are having out first mild winter in several years. My stock pond is just now filling which in a normal WA year it is filled by the end of Nov. We plan to enlarge the family garden this year to aid our kids food supply and we normally give the surplus to the Senior Center who provide meals. I might sudjest if you have any space to plant you might want to use it.

Kim

My mother lives in Yakima county. They haven’t had any snow and one day of rain in December. She’s says it’s bad there. It’s a drought prone area too.

K

Same from my sisters, on the Olympic peninsula. Except for fog no moisture at all.

Kim

It’s been foggy in Oregon but totally dry and most days the fog lifts by noon and it’s sunny from mountains to coast. I have a little creek that runs through the trees in my back yard– totally dry. At least it keeps the coyoats away.

Malcolm Reynolds

Do you remember the huge fire around Yakima way back in 94 when the Marines were sent in to help fight it?

Kim

I can’t say I recall that. My memory only goes back ten years. :-p. was it in the Satus area? That area seems to have its share of wild fires. I remember a big one up at Wenatchee but don’t know what year.

Malcolm Reynolds

That’s it – Wenatchee!
THAT, was one of the most interesting experiences of my life.

Kim

U have to get creative and find alternatives. Where I live, asparagus comes up on its own every year, watercress and purslane, various types of berries all grow wild in abundance around here. Reduce meat to 5% total caloric intake. Don’t waste anything. Many types of stems, peels, et can be eaten.

K

Now add in the herds that have frozen to death during the record cold snaps. Now add in the questionable safety of seafood, from the pacific and the gulf of mexico. Remember there is no difference between no food on the grocery shelf, and no food you can afford on the grocery shelf. If you still think only crazy survivalists, stockpile a little food. Think again. As I have said before, there are a lot of emergencies, that have nothing to do with the end of the world.

RICHARD

Something everyone one might not be aware of is the price of water. Even though I can grow food here in SoCal really well the Cost of water is going through the roof, and it will get worse. That adds a lot of money to the price of food.

MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse

Very good point Richard. The cost of water is definitely going to go up.

Michael

JustanOguy

All things considering, the cost of water in NV, AZ and CA has been cheap.

It’s certainly going up but it’s not like it was expensive to begin with. My water bill in Chicago was more..

davidmpark

Common garden snails are a good replacement for seafood – provides trace nutrients; especially iodine.

Priszilla

as well as bacteria and parasites.

davidmpark

That why snails need to go through a cleansing first. At least 30 days in a prepared enclosure.

Every raw food has bacteria in it. Parasites can be treated. Ag 101 stuff.

Mondobeyondo

Escargot?!! Ick….

Syrin

Groceries have on average a 3 day supply of food. If you wait until a crisis, then I’ll name you GARY, and you will quickly face one of three options:

1) Go to the regional FEMA camp and face whatever they choose to do there (Auschwitz anyone?)
2) Join the looting and rioting crowd until you get shot and killed
3) Starve to death

Which of those looks appealing? Sadly, 90% of the pop’l will be forced to make that decision.

davidmpark

I thought his clique would go for cannibalism of fetuses before #3.

JustanOguy

Luckily the U.S. produces much more food then it consumes…

Hammerstrike

Once the looting and rioting have emptied all the groceries, it is going to be starvation for eveyone.

Not many will last more than 2 weeks, +50% in 1 week.

Linda Dunaway Taylor

I am a small cattle farmer in Ky and we have already lost 20 head from the freezing weather here. Our calves, in other words replacements. So, yes it is getting bad.

Buster

Not to be a buster, but most of the produce in my supermarket in St. Louis comes from Mexico, central America, etc. Very little says from California or Texas…

JustanOguy

Is that depending on what time of year it is?

Winter time that’s true where I live… much of it comes from South of the Border. Spring/Summer and Fall is mainly California grown.

Winter time we can’t grow on the farm in the Northeast for obvious reasons and the crops aren’t harvested until June.

Mondobeyondo

So THAT’S why ribeye steak at my grocery store is $13.99 a pound!! Yikes!! Can’t imagine what a porterhouse is going for these days. $18.99/lb?!?

Imaplaneiac

Mondo, I suggest you heed the recommendation of the cows in that TV advert: ” Eat mor chiken “

MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse

Meat is becoming extremely expensive and this is only just the beginning.

Michael

Imaplaneiac

… Ever gone for dinner at a Golden Corral ( GC )? You can eat ALL the steak or meatloaf you like – and anything else you like, including chicken – for LESS than the price ( without beverage ) Mondo gives above! I usually go around 1530 ( military, veterans, and dependants know the 24 hour clock ) when GC still has a lower Lunch price! On that day, I earlier have a LIGHT Breakfast and then I skip Lunch. Doing this offsets at least half the price of my dinner at GC! I can assure you it’s GOOD EATIN’ at a VERY reasonable price!! On Veterans’ Day, my meal and beverage are ” on the house “!!

garand555

There is a reason Golden Corral is so cheap, and it’s not good. I know people who have worked there and people who have done electrical/plumbing service calls there and they were horrified and will never, ever eat there again. And these are people who will eat McDonalds.

Imaplaneiac

555, Horrified by WHAT??? My local GC is squeaky clean; the serving areas and the ” rest ” room! I live in the South. Where you live your GC apparently employs SLACKERS!

garand555

“Hey boss, this chicken is green, what do you want me to do?”

“Cook it anyway.”

No joke. They are cheap because they are selling you food that they acquired on the cheap, and they serve it even when they shouldn’t.

It’s not what goes on in the serving area.

Imaplaneiac

Have you reported what you allege to your local agency which oversees food / health standards at restaurants?

Michael, where I live, they put out roasts and no one can afford them at “that price”. So, they mark them down at night, and we get our meat at 30% off. Go home, cook it up, and it’s fine! No more hamburger for us.

Priszilla

It had been expensive before. For the protein eat more legumes. Also far easier to produce.

The strange fiction of end of world scenarios is that people will move from the country side to the city, because the supply is deemed to be better in cities.
How?
I always thought that food is grown outside of the cities?

Northernconservative

Chicken from china….yum yum yum! Hahahaha

Priszilla

if you have a backyard or garden, why not grow your own chicken? rabbits, pigeons?

Imaplaneiac

WHAT – a CONSERVATIVE up North?! Aren’t all Northeastern states ” DEEP BLUE ” – if ya know what I mean?!
There are chicken farms in the Divided States. Unless the eggs I just had for breakfast came in from China!

Priszilla

We get a salmon head for £0.50 apiece. 2 heads make a soup for two that lasts 2 days. Just add ginger, chilli, veggies, whatever you like.

quercus454

I was at a Sprouts market the other day. They were advertising Buffalo for 22.00/pd.

Mondobeyondo

I can attest to the fact that the western U.S. is, at the very least, in a really weird weather pattern, and at worse, in a long term drought.

Here in Phoenix, it hasn’t rained since December 13, 2013. Not even a sprinkle. Or a mist or fog. We had a record high temperature yesterday. Cali (California) is in bad shape. What happens in Cali usually happens to Arizona. This is not good.

Mondobeyondo

“But – you guys live in a desert”, you say.

True. And winter is our rainy season.

Annette Smith

When is Monsoon season, Mondo? I used to live there and forgot!

quercus454

June thru Sept

Anon

Yes God is punishing AZ and and CA, right Mondo?

Mondobeyondo

Considering what the eastern 2/3rds of the country has been through in the past month – we’ve gotten off pretty good.

garand555

I don’t know. I’m in NM, and last summer we had a super hot June followed by a storm that literally had hurricane force winds combined with hail. Talk about jacking a garden up. The heat mostly killed one variety of corn, the storm lodged another, shredded leaves on other things and almost ripped my squash out of the ground. The green chile did just fine, however, and there are some onions that I left to go to seed that are still out there. The kitchen garden was a bit more shielded and weathered the storm fairly well.

I think I’ll take a polar vortex. We’ve had arctic air masses down here with subzero temps before, and they were much easier to deal with. Except for the one a few years ago that wiped out half the Wryx herd on and around the White Sands Missile range. That kind of sucked, because now offrange Oryx hunts are tough.

MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse

Stay hydrated down there Mondo.

Michael

Rodster

The BEST strawberries are still available in FL. 🙂

Mondobeyondo

But we still grow the sweetest, juiciest oranges in Arizona and California!

Oh wait, you’re likely from Florida. Hmm.. you may have a legitimate point there…

Rodster

Yup, as you guessed i’m in FL. We have the BEST strawberries from Plant City which consistently wins the award for best berries in the state and we have the best oranges. Tropicana is also headquartered in our State for that reason.

Just north of us are the famous Georgia peaches.

quercus454

Tropicana imports a lot of their oranges..

quercus454

California produces a huge amount of strawberries. Some are huge and very very sweet. Never had a Florida berry. In fact I would hazard a guess that hardly anyone west of the Rockies has had one.

Orange Jean

Actually, in my opinion the sweetest oranges grow when there is a bit less water. Last time I was in FL and bought some oranges they were SOUR… and they had been having record rains.

garand555

The best strawberries are from my back yard. I think that it is possible that one or two made it into the house last year;)

Tim

A lot of the beef in conventional grocery stores comes from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and is NOT healthy. Cattle in CAFOs are fed grains and given antibiotics. It’s best to seek out grass-fed beef from local farms. You can search for local producers on sites like Eat Wild. If there aren’t any local sources of grass-fed beef in your area, there are many online sites where you can order grass-fed beef and have it delivered to your home. Is grass-fed beef worth the higher cost? Absolutely. Buy grass-fed ground beef if that’s all you can afford.

Rene Girrard

I always thought grain fed beef was better and more tender.

Syrin

Better how? It’s loaded on omega-3’s while grass fed beef is loaded with omega 6’s which are FAR healthier. Plus, grain has an antigen in it that causes humans to react poorly to it. It’s almost like eating poison ivy. Look at pics of modern day Monsanto wheat to those of 50 years ago. You would NEVER know the two plants were even remotely related. Grass fed beef is the way to go for health reasons. Tender is a luxury. When resources are scarce (and even when they aren’t), pick the nutritiously and most healthy option.

kk

Though grass fed beef is healthier, its because of no antibiotics, not omega 6.

Omega 3 is more healthier than omega 6, but other things like antibiotics make grain fed beef comparitively unhealthier than grass fed.

Annette Smith

You are right, Rene, it is!

Priszilla

try a slow cooker.

Mondobeyondo

Grass fed beef is better. Cattle naturally eat grass, not grain.

tuna fish

Gary, we are 5 years into the obama regime. how is this still the fault of Bush?

tuna fish

Gary, 20% of households are on food stamps, how is that the fault of Bush?

mosebym .

Man has corrupted the earth its time pay judgement is on the way.

Paul

I surfed Yahoo and there were over 12000 comments about a story concerning Seattle Seahawks cornerback Sherman proclaiming that he is the best cornerback in the NFL. Yet Michael’s story concerning the $23 Trillion dollar credit bubble gets only 106 comments. Also, the drought conditions in California are not being reported much by the mainstream media. Also, the Fukushima disaster is being grossly underreported as well. The important stories concerning the environment and global economic conditions are covered up or swept under the rug. by the media. The powers that be desire to keep Americans in a state of perpetual passivity. In today’s tough times one must be dynamic, think critically, and play their part in addressing critical world issues. To much time is wasted covering nonsense stories like how arrogant Sherman was proclaiming he was the best cornerback in the NFL

If you believe in god then the Fukushima disaster is his retribution for the murderous wars the USA has inflicted on the MIddle East. But who could possibly believe in a god that avenged the deaths of millions by ruining a nation with radioactive isotopes just because they were dumb, stupid warmongers. Yes, that god, you know, Israel and all that stuff.
Wake up you stupid, narrow minded American fools, the whole world is laughing at your problems and will absolutely go berserk with happiness when you begin eating each other. Believe it or not Europe is fine, Asia is going great and Oceania, particularly Australia are motoring. Only you and your stupid, dumb nation is falling to pieces.
Enjoy your demise while chewing onb your friends buttocks.

sharonsj

Fukushima happened because the company that built it lied about how it could withstand natural disasters when it couldn’t. It has nothing to do with Israel, the Middle East, or God.

Europe is not fine; it’s falling apart. Asia–only some parts are okay. Africa is a mess. Australia has plenty of problems. But you wouldn’t know any of that because you’re the one with blinders.

John Williams

U.S. dollars have been the only saving factor keeping Europe from completely imploding. China is cratering. You sir, are misguided at best.

Hammerstrike

No, the Federal Reserve dollar printing weakens the european economy since it is the international trade currency.
It is not why the european union is in so much troubles, thought.

Sandbagger

We run micro livestock in the form of Dexter cattle on our small acreage. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people start to raise micro livestock now that prices are soaring.

Rene Girrard

Pork has gotten do bad in the past year that I refuse to buy it anymore. It feels like rubber, and smells like amonia, and has white foam boil out of it when I cook it. I’m just not going to buy it.

MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse

Pork is not good for you anyway. It is about the most toxic meat on the entire planet.

Michael

davidmpark

Depends on what’s fed to it. Farming in the traditional sense cannot function without pigs.

It is only because of how we raise them. Chickens and turkeys are just as bad in that they eat what ever is available.

kk

True

Gay Veteran

actually beef is the worst, see recent medical studies on how an amino acid in beef is responsible for heart disease

davidmpark

Okay, first off; go to your city councils with this article and as much evidence as possible about the food shortages. Get them to overturn the zoning restrictions on growing food, keeping small animals, and collecting water – all sources must be considered.

Any vacant lots for sale near your homes, have a meeting with the owners to rent the land (while it’s on sale) for growing food as a community victory garden. Use this as an extension of whatsoever you can grow.

For growing, get heirloom varieties of seeds. That’s obvious. Mike, do you want me to send you a gardening primer I put together for a Church presentation that you can put on your site? That would make this all easier to understand.

Now, many are not able to raise chickens and goats. Well, go for rabbits and quails. Get the rabbits from at least two breeders with at least 4 years experience. Get three does (females) from one breeder, a buck (male) from another. The quail, if it’s out here in the west, California quail are edible if caught and fed properly; but getting them from a breeder is better as acclimation to an enclosure is better. Also, catching snails in your garden and placing them in a prepared area for growing and “cleaning them out” must be considered – they provide good protein and iodine to the diet.

For water – any rain that falls is good enough. A tarp with a hose attached to the center is good – send that into a charcoal/sand filter, those plans are online. If using for the garden, then fore go the filter (unless the water came from a roof with tar.) If being used for drinking, distillation (solar is fine) and sanitation via sodium hydrochloride (unscented household bleach) is perfect: two drops per quart. As for digging a well, find a PVC pipe method online. Sanitize the well.

If things get really bad and waste disposal is an issue; seriously consider building a “bio-latrine”: an outhouse that collects the human waste and anaerobically digests it into methane gas and harmless liquid runoff. This runoff is devoid of human pathogens, and is safe to send in the sewer or a non-food producing leech field. The gas can heat homes and cook foods for some time. Make sure the containers and digester are made to spec – methane and oxygen are combustible without a third-party ignition source.

Do your best everyone. Remember, if this is your first time, or had some failures before, don’t give yourself a hard time. It’s a learning curve: build one success upon another.

Priszilla

google guerilla farming

davidmpark

Anyone can call zoning for a variety of reasons, and they’ll gather evidence by photographing your yard via the neighbors by peering over the fences and such. Any “guerrilla farming” evidence seen and they’ll get the police to go in. Zoning people couldn’t care less what the results are to the victims; they count it as an accomplishment.

The best way to deal with them is to confront the city councilmen during election season in public, and ask them point blank why they consider starving people an accomplishment. Most will cave.

Priszilla

really, then i dont understand why americans are so afraid of commies. what you have is so much worse. in “communist” countries all the party cared for was the survival of the party everything else – up to you.

iafnaffsfasamasfjdaaaasfleisnf

Think about what you say! communist is a million times worse than what you have. Communist did not only care for the survival of the party. They killed countless innocent people. communists were the first to have forced abortions and they set out to destroy families for example forcing all woman to work. Communists took away all religious freedom especially from Christians. over 300 million people died from communism in one century and countless property was stolen and they destroyed/stole tens if not hundreds of thousands churches . so yes communism is much worse. Communism is not only based on Godlessness but also Satanism because Marx was satanic and their is proof for this.

Communism is the worst thing that could happen to America! Communism makes everyone poor in every way possible including in spirit.

Priszilla

and you speak from experience or hearsay?

FYI women have worked in all ages.

Ahh I read the rest of your post. You live in America and you believe the propaganda of your governments and the mainstream media.

Get some history books. Especially European history. You know, there was history before America?

Priszilla

you have restrictions on growing food on your own property?
thats even worse than communism.
we always grew whatever we liked on our plot, and sold it to local supermarkets.

k

Big AG and the politicians in its pocket, wont allow it. But you can try.

davidmpark

The people still own the nation. They just need to act like it.

k

Define ‘own’

davidmpark

As a verb: to have or hold as one’s own; possess:
to acknowledge or admit:
to acknowledge as one’s own; recognize as having full claim, authority, power, dominion, etc.

“We the PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

k

Well then the people ‘own’ the country in name only.

Not just americans, people in all countries’ own’ their country in name only.

davidmpark

A-HA! That’s what I’ve been waiting for. The preamble to the constitution doesn’t say “in name only”, it says directly that the people are the sole owners of this government. Nothing else.

Adding language, manipulating language is one of the tools that got us in this mess. Honest, straight-forward language will help get us out of it.

k

The constitution does say it, but in reality people everywhere ‘own’ their countries in name only.

I am not implying it should be like that, its should not…but it is like that.

davidmpark

Thank you!

Priszilla

Sounds like PEOPLE’S Republic of America

Mondobeyondo

Well, technically, yes. In reality, no. You don’t even truly own your own property. Try not paying your property taxes for, say, 10 years, and see what happens.

davidmpark

Yes, it’s time that the thieves repay us for what’s been stolen.

Priszilla

If they dont take ownership they dont.

Ownership isnt just exploitation, but also mantenance and nurturing.

only 30% ever vote, and how many of these few hold the elected actually accountable?

if you own the place, why do you litter it?

davidmpark

All the more reason to encourage one’s neighbors to come to the polls. Talk with them, and pass on information that’s important to know. Be diligent and steadfast. That’ll fix it.

2Gary2

It may seem counter-intuitive, but divorce rates are higher in
religiously conservative “red” states than “blue” states, despite a
Bible-based culture that discourages divorce.

Hey conservatives–hows that family value thingy workin out for you?

ha ha ha ha

davidmpark

Off subject again, Gary.

tuna fish

maybe his mother is a cow and he is upset by the picture

davidmpark

55 million human beings dead from your precious roe v wade genocide.

Millions unemployed.

Wealth deteriorating.

Societal collapse imminent.

Hows that Progressive/Liberalism working out?

Anywhere else – this ideology would be considered war crimes.

tuna fish

gary would qualify as a clownfish

Gay Veteran

except for abortion you’re describing fascism (the merger of state and corporate power), something both parties support.
as for abortion, how many unwanted babies have YOU adopted?

davidmpark

None. We are not allowed to by the state due to the wife’s disabilities. I wanted at least a dozen or more; no, I’m not joking. We wanted a large family.

Now, how many unwanted babies have you adopted? Since you’re a leftist, I should probably ask how many you’ve aborted.

Gay Veteran

man it is amazing that you anti-abortion types always have an excuse not to adopt.
btw, I’m not the one trying to turn women into slaves, so no adoption for me

davidmpark

The lengths you pro-murder, pro-genocide leftists people will go to demean and belittle. Only so you can enslave the wealthy and kill the infirm so you can live like little children off the work of others without competition. And yes, the left has a loooong history of enslaving lower caste women; how hypocritical. So yeah, no adoption might be best – who knows what’ll happen to those children.

Gay Veteran

“The lengths you pro-murder, pro-genocide leftists people will go to demean and belittle. Only so you can enslave the wealthy and kill the infirm so you can live like little children off the work of others without competition….”

sorry darling, but I’m not a member of the “left”, but great strawmen you built

davidmpark

You sound a lot like a leftist on most of your posts; that’s YOUR problem. And it’s only a straw-man if it’s inaccurate. As is your previous post.

My wife going the #$%&ing windshield and tumbling 100 yards in the Wyoming wilderness – nearly dying and suffering while her mind deteriorates, having no more ability than an 11-year-old is an “excuse” for us not adopting – now that’s quite a straw-man you built!

We aren’t ALLOWED to adopt. If you stopped to think about something more than just winning a debate for bragging rights – then maybe you’d come across as something close to human!

Typical leftist. And that is why your side is lost.

Gay Veteran

because obviously anyone who disagrees with you is a “leftist”.
think for yourself

davidmpark

Only if they spout leftist ideals. Think over what you’re doing.

Gay Veteran

I do. You should try it sometime

tuna fish

have mercy on gary, he is a typical racist liberal

tuna fish

sadly, Red states are infested with about 40% liberal trash

Gay Veteran

as if there’s any difference between the 2 parties

tuna fish

gary can’t discuss the obama economy, too embarrassing

Priszilla

Did I miss something?

Does America have a state owned economy now? With the president as CEO?

What happened to american entrepreneurs?

tuna fish

20% of households are now receiving foodstamps, thanks for enabling this disaster

tuna fish

food stamp recipients up 50% during the obama regime, thanks gary!

tuna fish

20% of households now receiving foodstamps, thanks gary!

tuna fish

is there any part of your body which is not racist?

k

Are you doing this deliberately?

Tim

Several months ago you mentioned that your wife was divorcing you. Did she actually go through with it?

12Gary2

yes she did. It was final just before thanksgiving. Since then I did find out that one can meet many women on OK Cupid. I have been with more woman since the divorce was initiated by my ex. I should thank her as its been great sleeping with several different women. Had I known what I was missing these last 25 years…I guess a 48 year old white male who makes a decent living is quite in demand…note to others-variety is way better than monogamy. It is quite fun being with a new woman the first time even though they pretty much feel the same. note to woman–keep your self tight–its no fun if you can drive a bus through and it is so big it has its own zip code. (it=vagina)

Saintmatty

You won’t be a boasting so much after you get to a catching the clap.

jonno

My Brother-in law as at a weekend meeting where his pastor spoke about the beauty of marriage.
Later that night he and his wife were in the room next door to the pastor and his wife and heard the pastor ” making love” to his wife by slamming her head into the wall and forcing her to perform very unchristrian acts on him and some elders.
My BIL left the next day and also left the church and is now a much happier man. Lets all pray for the pastor you dumb christian idiots.

2Gary2

Hey at least he did not want to go up the dirt road.

garand555

~200lbs of elk in the freezer…CHECK
A plethora of seeds, many saved from last year…CHECK
10 fruit trees…CHECK

Water table @ 6ft…CHECK

I just need to drive a 1 1/4″ well for a pitcher pump in case the power goes out and build a chicken coup. I’d like to get a nanny goat for the milk, but that may not be for another year. I fully plan on not being shocked, i tell you, shocked by the coming high food prices.

If you have a house in the suburbs, you’d be better served by ripping out your lawn and planting a food garden. It would contribute to an overall drop in water use and it would make our oil supplies stretch that much further.

Oh, and go with open pollinated heirloom or landrace seeds. You want to rely on products that require heavy industry and petrochemicals as little as possible. Best to learn how to do that now while the pressure succeed is not tied to how well you eat.

TheIronYuppie

My wife and I recently drove from L.A. to a small town north of Santa Barbara, and we were blown away by the sight of all the dead or dying oak trees. They dot the rolling hills and make the area what it is. California should have been building desalination plants back In the ’70’s.

China is pork country, they feed their pigs with leftovers from the table. Their population is still rising.

Priszilla

Even if you live in the city you can grow herbs in a pot. Good for scent, food, medicine.

Build a little shelf to put into your window and populate it with pots.

tuna fish

hey gary, how’s that obamacare workin’ for ya’?

Bill

Good place to jump in with my 2 cents.
Just renewed a script that used to cost me $7.50. This time it cost me $12.50.

Small example=huge % increase=one pissed off voter.

VTF (Vote To Flush. out the dc criminals)

Bill

That is a 60% increase in 90 days. What if gasoline, food or housing did the same for you. How would you feel?

tuna fish

“Free markets means everything is free” -gary

Jodi

I live out west & it’s been very dry this year. The last significant snow storm we had in Utah was before Christmas. I was listening to the radio the other day & they don’t expect we will get much more this season. Meanwhile, we have the dirty air police complaining about the inversion. I don’t think there is a whole lot we can do about it folks. Pray for snow.

davidmpark

Absolutely! That would explain our pollution problem too. Water vapor (a greenhouse gas) is able to neutralize the ozone and other pollutants in the air.

There isn’t much we can do; unless we build airships and spray water in the valleys, but we’re not that odd.

Adam

Human overpopulation is the cause of all these problems. Humanity is a virus that deserves extinction.

Mondobeyondo

I’d think twice about that. Assuming you are a human, of course.

k

While human overpopulation is causing problems…extinction is not the solution.

Voluntary self control against having more many kids than you can provide for, is the answer.

noprivacyallowed373

Try weather wars, haarp, contamination of water ,ie, West Virginia-Elk River, Fukashima, contamination of food, ie, gmo, on and on……

Priszilla

20 years ago Indonesia had a campaign: Two is enough, with Statues showing a family with two children everywhere.
China has the One child policy. now implemented for 20 years and the population is still rising.

Anything involving people always takes a long time to change. 4 years election time doesnt change much. any real change will be seen earliest 10 years after the change was initiated, if it wasnt cancelled by the next government.

thats why change in single party countries is far quicker.

Mondobeyondo

Back to our ongoing soup opera, “As The World Burns”…

– Justin Bieber’s been arrested, allegedly for DUI and speeding. Ever notice the physical similarities between Justin, Elvis Presley and James Dean? Coincidence?

I hear there’s now a new cold wave hitting the central and eastern U.S. That’s rough. Nice and sunny in the West. Most people here are boasting about the great weather. But it may be a curse in disguise. No rain = no water. No water for the crops. No water for the people, either. Crops will dry up and die. Farmers will sell their cattle. Sure, beef prices will drop on the short term. But cattlemen would have no breeding stock to restore their herds. Why? Because you ate it all, literally.

El Pollo de Oro

“Loss of Life”……the ongoing story of The Banana Republic of America and her loss of human dignity (sorry, that was a sick-humored parody of an old soup opera Abuelita watched back in the day).

Alan

I think as things gradually get worse we may see a migration of people from northern states down to the southern ones. I can almost grow all year long where I am at and the ocean is near by. I just bought a hand water pump to install this spring. My water table is 6 feet deep. Living in a hurricane area we always need to be prepped. Land is still cheap here so come down now and beat the rush.

Bill

On my way south myself……

Bill

Thanks Michael for keeping an eye out for new trouble spots. I like to do the same. A few minutes ago I noticed more of the same confusion in CNBC’s summary of the job market. Is it the stats or the summary, CNBC or the gov? Various parts of the summary are confusing if not contradicting. My opinion is that it is a process by design of spinning lies.

As we approach 1-31-14 the news wires are humming faster and faster.

Karen

History always repeats it’s self, folks just need to grow their own food. It’s getting rougher to do that these days, I am an avid gardener and I plant by the moon signs this year arm worms took over never had them before than after the army worms came three months of rain straight. But lots of my crop came out great. You have to plant by the moon favorable signs from the Old Farmers Almanac, and thank Mother Earth and Father Sun and Mother Moon and are brothers and sisters of the cosmos.

JustanOguy

I was waiting for you to bring up the drought conditions in California.

There is a big difference between this drought in CA and the other droughts you have mentioned in the past which were a little overblown / hokey if you really know the conditions and effects of snow packs in the Rockies, Colorado River water allocations and water usage in the states such as Nevada, Arizona and CA.

This one actually has a big impact with the little to no snow in the Sierras this year. Should be interesting to see what happens to California’s economy where $100 Billion a year is related to Agriculture. I hear it’s up to 200,000 acres that won’t be planted this year due to the lack of rain / snow in the Sierra’s and will get higher if it continues.

That’s a lot of Cha-Ching for the Country’s biggest state economy that actually produces something and there certainly will be ripple effects felt across the country.

quercus454

Let’s all hope so. But better to be prepared and not need it then the other way around. .

1autumn

1autumn

Mondobeyondo

Hi 1autumn! Have you met Summer Winterspring yet? 🙂

Mondobeyondo

“Oh no! The world’s falling apart! We’re going to pieces!!” If you truly feel that way….

Google “Animals on Mars”. Go ahead. I double dog dare you.

You’re not being told the truth.

Mondobeyondo

[WARNING] Take the information presented for what it’s worth

Thad Daly

And the government in their genius will continue to push the Renewable Energy Source law and subsidize the growing of corn for ethanol rather than food–

garand555

Yup. And EROEI on ethanol from corn SUCKS. I’ve seen numbers that range from .7 (you use more energy than you gain) to 1.4 (which still sucks.) I personally believe that it is closer to the lower end, because not all EROEI studies account for all true energy costs. Corn for ethanol (excluding whiskey, of course) is simply an indirect subsidy used by politicians to keep corn growers happy.

YIH

That’s right, if you tried to fuel a still on the alcohol it produces you would need more fuel. That’s not even counting the fuel needed to produce and transport the grain(s).

Gay Veteran

oh yes, got to have corn for bourbon (KY) and whisk(e)y (TN)

garand555

You can drop the (e) in whisk(e)y, as whisky comes from barley.

Gay Veteran

Jack Daniel whiskEy
George Dickle whisky

goldminer

Its nice to se someone talking about the drought we are facing here in the west. Its bad and hardly gets a passing mention in the news.

Lake Mead has been at drought level since 2007.

Only 25 more feet to drop till it reaches critical level (1075 feet) and water is rationed. Lake Powell is also at very low levels.

California has priority on the water from lake Mead. 7 western states depend on water from lake Mead/ Colorado river. Las Vegas and Phoenix will get mighty thirsty when the rationing kicks in. This could happen next summer. if we don’t get any moisture. Let the water wars begin!
IMO we are looking at a decades long drought. This not only will affect the West but the Midwest also….Think Dust Bowl! There have droughts in the past that lasted 30 years. This has been verified by tree ring studies. As far as food production goes we would be in deep do- do if the Ogallala Aquifer and imperial valley dries up. Something to think about.
As for me I am expanding my garden this year. I hunt and fish and can live off the land if I had to.
Local rancher sells great tasting range beef. As long as our local water supply holds out. we will be ok. But IDK The mountains around here are bare of snow. Wife and I went hiking at around 6200 foot level. There should have been many feet of snow. We were walking on dry ground.
With no snow in sight. Things are looking to be very dry this summer. Then there will be the range and forest fires.

Wally

When you start putting everything together it starts making sense.

The government is well aware of food shortages and drought.

The government is well aware of the real unemployment numbers.

The government is well aware of the impending financial collapse.

The government is well aware that at some point very soon they will not be able to keep paying welfare, social security and medicare.

Everything the government is doing right now leads to only one logical conclusion:

When they start water and food rationing, when they start cutting or eliminating social security disability and food stamps and all other welfare type payments, when they stop funding of medicare. When the economy finally collapses under its own weight only one outcome and that is civil unrest in the form of riots and worse. As Michael has pointed out many times, a lot of countries are a few months ahead of us. Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, France and on and on are experiencing riots and civil unrest. Look at reports from the Ukraine right now? Serious riots not just riled up protestors, flat out civil violence.

There is a reason for all the bullets, there is a reason for drones, there is a reason for the Tierney by this government. It is all setting up for when the SHTF that the government will completely take over everything. Then what. Martial Law…It will not be uncommon to see troops in every town in the streets. Things are going to get nasty. Plan now because when it hits all heck is going to break lose.

david odowd

You’re right of course; soon the most precious metal will be lead!

El Pollo de Oro

Wally: Excellent points, dude. The BRA government poses a much greater to Americans than terrorists.

“Homeland Security is armed and locked and ready to blow your brains out if you start protesting martial law.”—Gerald Celente

“It is probably going to be the messiest, darkest time that we’ve experienced in this country. I’d be very willing to bet that.”—The Patriot Nurse

Boo-urns

What the hell is “Tierney”?

YIH

As a ‘heads up’; remember, ”organic” and ”natural” are ad-copy buzzwords. They don’t have any official definition. Stuff from smaller farms tend to stick closer to what is commonly understood as ”organic” (no hormones/antibiotics/artificial fertilizers/pesticides) food from major processors (check labels, even if it says ‘nature farms’ it might be from big ag anyway) play fast and loose with the term.
An example is ”free range” chicken – it just means they were not caged and have some access to the outside, instead they’re raised in huge barns and likely have never been outside it.

garand555

“Organic” actually does have a specific definition if you’re talking to the USDA. It also has a definition if you’re talking chemistry. However, I expect the (organic) chemistry definition to be much more closely adhered to. I also tend to think that the USDA’s definition of “organic” misses the mark.

Mondobeyondo

Dedicated to all the good, fine, sweet people in the state of Indiana:
————————–

“It’s winter in Indiana, and the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour, at 35 below.
Oh how I love Indiana, when the snow’s up to your butt
You take a breath of winter air, and your nose gets frozen shut.”
————————–
Having said that – Al Gore lied to y’all. Yes, all y’all.There is no global warming, just global extremes which are getting more extreme each year.

By the way, it does get up to 120 degrees at times here in Phoenix. That’s not fun either.

Mondobeyondo

Know what we say down here when it get that hot?

“Have a roasty toasty summer
It’s the hottest time of year
I’m quite sure there won’t be snow
But have a keg ‘o beer…”

Apologies to Burl Ives.

Philip Arlington

You are heading into self-parody territory presenting the high price of organic strawberries in January as a harbringer of global economic collapse. There is perhaps a serious case to be made here, but your endless panic-mongering ruins your credibility. I don’t know whether you would care about that or not as I can’t tell whether your blog is serious or just a means of selling advertising for prepper supplies.

Mondobeyondo

I can’t speak for organic strawberries specifically. But food as a whole, is a commodity, just like gold, silver, oil, etc. The price of commodities is a good indicator of how things really are out there. There are better indicators (the Baltic Dry Index, for one). The U.S. government is the LAST source you should trust, to tell you the truth about the economy.

Adam

Michael is an idiot.

John Evangelisti

The reason we have government paying farmers not to grow food is a problem described by economists long ago as the farm problem. Farming is always subject to that wild card called the environment, although modern methods have blunted the impact. In a bad year for food production some farmers will command high prices. In a good year many farmers go broke due to oversupply and low prices.

Farmers in other parts of the country watching the disaster unfold out West will want to get in the game because they are going to have a good year. Your own vegetable garden could become a cash crop better than marijuana or tobacco.

freeme

Jan 23, 2014: The Weather Channel just announced today that ‘cloud seeding’ will now be implanted in CA to produce SNOW at the Ski resorts, and maybe other locations necessary for replenishing depleted water resources too? Geo-engineering aka ‘weather modification’ has been going on for years, so all they have to do is cut a deal with the companies that do the aerial spraying and the other machines controlling the Jetstream.

Farmer Glench

I raise about 175 bull hereford’s, 45 cows, and about 60 bull calves here in Southern Alberta… talk with ranchers down in Montana all the time and they aren’t at all suffering from weather problems.

What I don’t get is, if the US cattle industry is suffering so badly, then why is it that these ‘people’ in the US government are pushing ahead with all this nonsense ‘country of origin’ labeling crap…

This insanity adds a lot of paperwork for us ranchers to have to go through in order to sell cattle down in the states…

Maybe Obama should focus more towards the import of banana’s, coconuts… instead of trying imposing idiotic regulations on the US cattle industry…

dewey olsen

The Struggle within America—Isaiah
Saw It All!
by Avraham Gileadi Ph.D.

Many regard Isaiah’s prophecy as a sealed book. Who does it address, only people in the
past? A key to this mystery exists in the linear and synchronous structures
that govern the Book of Isaiah. These enable us to read it as a prophecy
about the past but also as a prediction of the future. The Book of Isaiah, in
other words, serves a twofold purpose. Without taking anything away from what
happened in the past, it uses the past as an allegory of the future. In that
case, persons and nations of Isaiah’s day typify ones who perform similar
roles at the end of the world. The names of past persons and nations function
as codenames for their endtime counterparts.

The importance of understanding Isaiah’s
message increases daily as world events line up like planets for the
fulfillment of his prophecy. Under the codename “Egypt”—the great superpower
of Isaiah’s day—America is predicted to suffer spiritual decline, political
ineptitude, economic collapse, internal anarchy, and invasion by a foreign
military world power from the North—a latter-day “Assyria.” On the other
hand, a community of covenanters in “Egypt” will turn back to Jehovah, who
will send them a savior and deliver them. In the end, at the commencement of
the millennial age, America will again become “my people”—a covenant people
of God (Isaiah 19).

5. 20. 2010

dewey olsen

End-time “Egypt”—A Superpower in
Decline

by Avraham
Gileadi Ph.D.

Isaiah’s use of types of ancient world
powers that foreshadow end-time ones extends to the great superpower Egypt.
As with all nations and persons who appear in the Book of Isaiah, their true
identity emerges when we observe how Isaiah characterizes them, not
when we apply historical or archaeological data, though at times that may
help. In searching the world today for a nation that matches Isaiah’s
description of “Egypt,” the sole candidate is America. That connection is
further strengthened by the fact that God’s people anciently dwelt in Egypt,
that Joseph ruled Egypt, and that the birthright tribe of Ephraim sprang from
Joseph and Asenath, an Egyptian woman.

Isaiah’s “Egypt,” however, is a
superpower in decline: “The ministers of Zoan have been foolish, the
officials of Noph deluded; the heads of state have led Egypt astray. Jehovah
has permeated them with a spirit of confusion; they have misled Egypt in all
that it does, causing it to stagger like a drunkard into his vomit. . . .
Manufacturers of combed linen and weavers of fine fabrics will be dismayed.
The textile workers will know despair, and all who work for wages suffer
distress. . . . I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians; they will
fight brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor, city against
city and state against state” (Isaiah 19:2,
9–10,
13–14).

The agricutlural industry in California is ill-equipped to deal with the drought situation. First, many of the crops are water intensive in a state that has a Mediterranean-type climate. Second, we are living on borrowed time until our levee system in the Delta fails. It was built by farmers in the mid-19th century and has been patchworked repair since then. In the 1990s, it would have cost a $150 billion to repair and/or replace this system. It costs more now. If it fails, it will have catastrophic results for the state.

Undecider

If they wanted to, they could make it rain with their “weather weapons.” Or, they could prevent it. How convenient that the agriculture capitol of the United States is under a siege of drought. The depopulationists must surely be jumping for joy.

However, how cares when there’s a football game on television!

motorsportsnz

There’s not anything mor accurate in forecasting than the scriptures of Yahweh

DHConner

And there is another factor in play now. This winter, cattle ranchers on the Northern Great Plains lost tens of thousands of cattle that froze to death in a severe blizzard. The wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions will eat well this year, and I’ll be very surprised if this doesn’t drive beef prices even higher. To re-stock those herds will take at least four or five years to get to a point where reproduction will outpace attrition.